Joshua Daniel Bishop was executed by the state of Georgia on Thursday, March 31, 2016. He was pronounced dead at 9:27 pm EDT, inside the execution chamber at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia. He was 41 years of age. His execution was delayed several hours due to appeals. Joshua was executed for the murder of 44-year-old Leverett Lewis Morrison on June 9, 1994, in Baldwin County, Georgia. Joshua spent the last 20 years of his life on Georgia’s death row.

Joshua had a difficult childhood, never knowing exactly who his father was. His mother was an occasional prostitute, who taught Joshua that a man used violence to show his love. Joshua was addicted to drugs and alcohol from childhood. On the night of the murder, Joshua had been drinking. Joshua also argued that when he confessed, he was high on cocaine and had been drinking.

On June 9, 1994, Leverett Morrison drove Joshua Bishop and Mark Braxley to a local bar. They all left the bar together around 11:00 pm, and went to Braxley’s trailer. Bishop and Braxley had decided to steal Leverett’s car while they were at the bar. While Leverett was sleeping, Bishop reached into Leverett’s pocket to retrieve the keys. Bishop’s actions caused Leverett to awaken, at which point Bishop began to beat Leverett with a blunt object. When Leverett was no longer conscious, Bishop took the keys.

Bishop and Braxley eventually realized that Leverett was dead. They wrapped his body and placed it in the car. They drove to a dumpster, where they left the body, before driving the car into the woods and setting in on fire. They then returned to Braxley’s trailer and tried to dispose of the evidence of their crime. Leverett’s body was discovered several hours after it was left at the dumpster.

Bishop and Braxley were eventually arrested and both confessed to the crime. Bishop also confessed to his involvement in the murder of Ricky Lee Wills, which occurred approximately two weeks before the murder of Leverett. Bishop told police that they could find Ricky’s body buried near Braxley’s trailer. Bishop and Braxley were both indicted for Ricky’s murder.

Please pray for peace and healing for the families of Leverett Morrison and Ricky Willis. Please pray for strength for the family of Joshua Bishop.